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Jesselyn McCurdy

Jesselyn McCurdy is responsible for defending civil liberties in Congress and in the Executive Branch in the areas of criminal justice. McCurdy was a member of the ACLU WLO staff for five years before accepting a position as a Counsel with the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. She was the lead House counsel for the historic Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 when it passed Congress.

Articles by this author

ViewsWednesday, June 5, 2013 - 1:21pmShining a Light on Solitary ConfinementIt's estimated that more than 80,000 prisoners are held in solitary confinement or restricted housing across the United States on any given day. According to a new report released last week by the U.S. General Accounting Office, it's about time the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) started evaluating its use of solitary and monitoring its effects on those prisoners.Read more

ViewsTuesday, February 26, 2013 - 7:56amSequestration Puts Spotlight on America’s Dangerously Overcrowded Federal PrisonsTalk about worrying about the symptom instead of the cause: Attorney General Eric Holder recently sent a letter to Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, warning of the devastating effect budget cuts will have on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) if sequestration moves forward. If no deal is reached by March 1, the BOP will face a 5% reduction in staffing levels.Read more

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